Acetylene-gas generator.



Z. A. & F. P. FERREL. AGETYLBNE GAS GENERATOR. APPLICATION FILEDJULY 12, 1912.

1,1 16,404, I `Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

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2% Z /BA A. FEEEEL z. A. & P. P. PBRREL.

ACETYLBNE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1912.

1,1 1 6,404. Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

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Z. A. 6L F. P. FERREL.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIZ, 1912. 1,1 116,404, Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

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ZIBAA. FERREL AND FRANKLIN P. rement, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

Application filed July 12, 1912. Serial No. 709,087.

I our invention is to construct an apparatus for the purpose of generating gas from calcium carbid for lighting or heating purposes, that will combine safety with automatic regulation of the production of gas and its preparation for use.

Another object is to `provide a. delivery valve for thc admission of carbid to the water tank Without choking, and without back flow of gas and vapor into the carbid receptacle. i

Another object `is to provide a safe, light, and eicient mechanism for connecting the gas receiver Withthe carbid supply which will act quickly, `smoothly and automatically, `to maintain a given supply of gas in the gas receiver.

Still other objects of the invention may appear `as hereinafter described.

We attain these objects by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which:-

Figure l is a `front elevation of our gas generating device. Fig. 2- is a vertical section of Fig. 1.` F ig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of the actuating arm. Fig. 4: is a view inelevation of the valve stein, cam and 'luted collar. Fig. is a broken, enlarged, vertical sectional view of the carbid valve. Fig. (i is a front elevation of the gas washer. Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional vieu7 of a part of the carbid inlet.

Our acetylene gas generating :apparatus comprises two main tanks, the generator l and the receiver or the storage tank 7, together with certain connections and attachments to be described.

rlhc generator 1 having the base 2 is the usual tank, used for such purpose,the bot# toni -of the tank being made to slant downward in onerdirection toward an outlet 2O in which is the tap valve 21 for the purpose of drawing off the sludge from the generator. On the top of the generator 1 is bolted, by means ofthe flanges 39 and 4L() and the bolts 41, the neck 3, and on top of this neck is bolted in the same manner by hopper '1L is screwed the nipple 4f', and on javhich is screwed the carbid inlet 5 having on the side thereof the opening 5', in which is screwed the screw plug 45 having the extension finger 116 adapted to serve as a key to the plug 115 and prevent its removal from the inlet until the arm 52 has been removed, and thus prevent the generation of gas during lthe re-charging process.

The head 32 is screwed into the top of the carbid inlet and on this head is` secured the cage 6. In the carbid hopper 4l is the small, auxiliary carbid holder 73 provided with a stern 1l-3 which extends through the packed `collar tet to the outside of the hopper.

In the generator 1, and extending up zthrough its top, is the agitator 6st having the `T G1 on its lower end and in which `are `screwed the arms (32 and 63. The lower part of the T is pivotcd in a bearing 61 on the bottom of the tank. The upright 64 is seat- `ed revolubly in the water sealed pipe 6a',

extends through the top of the generator and on the outside of the generator, and on its upper end has formed on it the cross handle 33 with the knobs 34.

The gas outlet G5 extends from the top of the neck 3 pipe 1] through the T 10 and leads down to the valve Q5 from which it joins the T 27 Ythrough the nipple 26.

The vent pipe 19 leads up from thepipe` lwill open `the valves 22` and must be opened.

The ventilating perforations 31 are cut in the base `of the generating tank`1 belouT the bottom 60. i i

The gas tank 7 hasthe base 8 with ventilatingperforations 31. The gas bell 9 ts loosely in the tank 7 and has on its top the smaller dome 9.

r The boaom n f the. ank 7 hasta@ downward and out through `the side of the tank, Where it is coupled to the` smaller open bottomed cylinder 75 depending from it and reaching nearly to the bottom of the base 8. On this depending cylinder 75 is removably fitted the drip pan 76 and under this pan is the brace 77, which 1s secured to the wall of the base 8. The tube 78 connects the pan 76 with the elbow 79 on the outside of the base 8.

The vertical tube 56 serves as a guide for the gas bell in its vertical movement and has the globular screw plug 8O in its top, is riveted to the dome 9 and extends into the bell 9 about two-thirds of its length; the lower end being held rigid by the braces 83, which are secured to the wall of the bell 9. The smaller tube 81 is a vent, open at both ends, is secured vertically in the bottom 74, the opening being below said bottom, extends up into the guide tube 56, and is provided near the top with the perforations 82.

The gas outlet pipe 57 has its lower end screwed into the bottom 7 4 with the end depending into the pendent cylinder 75 and its upper end at the bottom of the dome 9.

" Near the bottom of the tank, is a branch pipe 58 which passes out through the side of the tank where it may be connected with a lighting system as a means of supply.

The vertical gas inlet 29 is seated in and through the bottom 74, similar to the pipe 57 but extending lower into the cylinder 75. Above and near the bottom 74 it is joined by the 'l 15, to the upright 14 which is con nected at its top by the T 13 to the lateral pipe 12 which is connected by a T into the pipe 11 on the generator. The top of the pipe 29 is turned over downward and connected with the inverted washer cup 53 on which is formed the perforations 59 around its top and the slits 59 in its lower edge, this cup being adapted to be normally about one inch below the water level.

The lateral pipe 84 connects the lower end of the pipe 81 with the outside of the tank, and the water stand pipe 86, open at the top, connects through the tank with the "l" 16, and is used as an overflow pipe for the pas-- sage of surplus water from tank 7 to the` generator 1 during recharging.

rlhe mechanism of the carbid valve is described as follows: The shaft 47 has its upper end pivoted, vertically slidable, in the top of the cage 6 and its lower end has the retaining nuts 66 and the lock nuts 65. The cap 66 is held on the shaft 47 between the nuts and 66, and screwed on the valve stem 67. The water seal tube 47 has a gas tight connection with the top of the carbid holder. The valve stem 67 is outside of the tube 47 and the shaft 47 and has screwed onto its top the conical valve 87 over which is loosely seated the closely fitting hollow 1 cone 88. On the shaft 47, in the cage 6 is inovably fitted the lifting screw 48 having formed on its i outer surfacel the vertical grooves 49, which, a short distance down runs into the helical grooves 51, the bottom of the collar having secured to it the cam A corresponding cam 72 in reverse of the cam 50 is secured rigidly to the bottom of the cage 6 and adapted to engage the cam 50 at a point in its revolution.

The galvanized iron inverted cone 89 hav-- ing the tubular lip 90 and the flange 91 and constituting a valve seat, is rigidly secured in the hopper 4 by clamping the tlange 91 between the flanges 35 and 86. In this cone 89 is an upright double conical hood 94 and 95 held rigid by straps y98. The brace 92 holds the cone 89 rigid.

The tubular valve stem 67 extends up into the bottom of the cone 89 and has rigidly secured to its top the conical valve 87, which is adapted to seat against the bottom of the cone 89. Loosely seated on the top of the valve is a similar hollow cone 88. The lowerl end of the valve stem 67 is adapted to be engaged by and lifted by the cap 66 by action of the shaft 47 when the cam 50 rises on the cam 72. Wlhen it reaches the shoulder on the cam 72 and drops down to the level, the valve will drop down into thi, valve seat.

The cap 66 on the lower end of the valve stem 67 has perforations 122 in the bottom around the outer edge and a central perforation through which the end of the lshaft 47 passes, the lock nuts 65 being screwed on the shaft above the cap 66', and the retaining nuts 66 by which the movement of the valve may be adapted to forceit up and down, being screwed on the shaft below said cup.

The actuating arm 52 is composed of the two resilient members 110 and 111 secured together tightly in the middle by the rivets 112 and 113, the upper ends being spread apart to form a yoke and so heldy by thc spacing rivet 114, the lower end of the arm being bent to form a spring fork, in the ends of which are the perforations 115. The ends of the yoke have the bearings 116 at tached, and contain the balls 12() and the round headed pins 118. The length of the arm 52 and the contiguity of the generator tank and the gas tank causes the arm 52 to remain at such an angle as to support it in its position at all times.-

To connect the gas bell with the carbid valve mechanism the end of the arm 52 is slipped over thetop of the shaft 47 and the heads 119 of the rollers 118 are placed in the grooves 49 of the shaft. The spring fork 110 and 111 is then placed over the dome 9 and the perforations 115 over the pins 55 in the dome.

Our feed valve is very simple and eoient, it is very heavy, which insures that it will never clog or stick, but will always seat Aproperly and stop the How of carbid at lli proper time, andyet the operating mechanism is so perfect that `only a few ounces of power is required on the part of the gas holding bollito operate the valve. This nice adjustment and delicate balance is essential to insure a steady pressure on the gas at the burners and consequent steady clear-light. The valve has the form of a double cone, one cupped within the other, thepurpose of the upper cone 88 being to stop the flow of carbid; the purpose of the lower cone 8T being to close the valve seat opening of the hopper funnel very tightly to prevent moisture from the generator' fromascending into the carbid hopper to attack the unused carbid and cause what is knownas after generation. i

The valve is protected above by a double conical hood, the top hood 94 serving to break the compact 4mass of carbid and prevent ammingorclogging of carbid, and the lower hood 95 serving to insure steady feeding of carbid and prevent a sudden rush of carbid in case thevalve were held open from some unforeseen cause, and also t insure a y gentle pressure only against the sides of the valve. The valve is protected below by a condensation lip 90 to prevent the moisture ascending by capillary attraction to the valve and carbid where it might accumulate and require cleaning out.`

Our lifting screw mechanism provides a very powerful device for operating the valve. This is accomplished by the use of the cam 72 which lifts a total of S pounds inch high duringone complete revolution of the screw. A

The helical ute 51 has a pitch of 9 inches to one revolution and forms a pathway for the ball bearing rollers of the actuating arm 52 from the gas holder, and gives the lifting screw a rotary motion and the ball bearing rollers aresupposed to remain in said helical flute while the apparatus is in operation.

- y The valve will be closed when the rollers are near the top of the helical flute, and wide open when they are near the bottom of the helical flute. Just before the rollers reach the bottom of the flute, the cam 50 will have made a complete revolution and will drop back to the place of beginning, and will allow the valve to close. This arrangement is a special safety device, as the valve will always close upon the landing of the gas bell, and the bell will always land when there is a great escape of gas or when the carbid is gone. It is then necessary to have the valve closed before upsetting the reserve holder, inthe hopper. The straight flute above the helical flute `is intended to engagethe ball bearing rollers and hold the valve closed when the bell is very high. This device is intendedto give the gas holder great emergency'capacity vbefore it reaches the venting point, and obviates all danger of over genmovement of the bell, and is another safety device, `as it would require 11 inches of water column pressure before gas could escape under the lower lip of the bell and long before this much pressure has accumulated the safety relief trap in the drip chamber will come into action, and all gas, no matter how much, will escape to the outer air, through the venting pipe 81.

The distance between thetop end of the lifting screw and top plate of cage 6 is so small that the valve must be entirely seated before the actuating arm can be removed or replaced, and this prevents the valve being held open unintentionally.

The lifting screw 4:8 is connected to the valve by the solid shaft 47 coming in engagementl with a heavy cap at lower end several inches beneath the surface of the water in the generator chamber. This loose connection is provided for the purpose of giving to the valve both vertical. and rotary motion; this double motion giving a uniform flow of carbid.

The cap 66 being screwed to the valve stem permits a loose rotary motion between the capGG and the shaft 17. The pair of lock nuts 65 above the washer are intended to bring the entire weight of the lifting screw to bear upon the valve to force it down, 1f necessary.

The actuating arm 52 is of great importance; it actuates the feed mechanism and its riveted neck forms an interference lever against finger 46 and must be removed before the filling plug 45 can be removed to recharge the machine. This prevents the escape of gas into the room. It also forms a stop for the upward motion of the bell, and prevents rotary motion of the bell.

The revoluble ball bearing rollers 118 before referred to are mechanically correct;

the pressure being mostly outward on account of the semi-circular shape of the flute cross section, the balls are placed at the outer end of each roller. The roller has a semi i circular shaped head which fits neatly into the long liute ofthe lifting screw.

The auxiliary supply device constituting a horizontally placed cone-shaped cup has this shape so that there 4willbe no empty air space beneath it. It is capable of being operated from Without, the handle being so arranged as to normally hold it in an upright position while the hopper is being filled with carbid and at which time it becomes filled. `When the carbid in the hopper becomes eX- hausted the cup will still remain lled, and the valve of the hopper will be closed as before stated. The reserve device may then be overturned without opening the appa ratus and the user will be provided with a supply suiiicient for at least one evening.

rlhe gas washer 53 requires very little pressure to operate it, being immersed only slightly below surface of the water. It spreads the gas over a wide fiat disk beneath the water where all lime dust can settle to the bottom of the tank. It washes the gas in tiny bubbles as it rises through water and dissolves all ammonia and sulphurated hydrogen. ln case the gas comesY in too large volumes for the upper row of holes 59 to carry it then it comes next into contact with a series of narrow slits 59 which have capacity for. nearly any emergency. Even if these are over taxed then the lower edge or lip of the gas washer is notched 59 or serrated 592, so that the gas even in an enormous volume would still be broken up into bubbles. rlhis latter case could never happen except when the apparatus `was being manipulated by hand. This washer has no moving parts and has very rigid construction.

rlhe pipe leading to the gas washer rises high above the water, thus preventing any back flow from the holder to generator tank, and likewise preventing the siphoning of water from the holder tank during the act of recharging vthe generator. vThe generator chamber is filled with water `by flooding the holder tank. The object of this process is to pass all water used through the holder tank around the gas washer so that the gas washer will always have clean water to wash the gas. Also so that the fine openings in the gas washer will not become clogged with lime. The process is so carried out that the water will always be main.- tained within one inch of the top ofthe holder tank. This is very essential because `it permits a rigid construction of the gas washer whereas, without this feature the gas washer would have to take the form of a floating valve to equalize the constantly changing water level.

As to the safety of our. generator, it is specified that the connecting and actuating arm 52 can be connected operably with the carbid valve mechanism or disconnected from it, only when the valve is closed, as at that time only is there room enough between the top of the lifting collar 48' and the top of the cage 6 for the roller bearing ends of the arm to enter the grooves 49; and the carbid chamber can be opened only tueeee ywhen the said arm is disconnected from the valve mechanism and the gas bell. When this bell is at its highest point, the gas will enter the escape holes 82 in the pipe 8l and pass down and out through this pipe and the pipe Se into the open air, and the bell pipe 56lreaches the top of the water in the tank 7 just before the actuating armi-caches the highest point on the lifting collar 48.

The pipe 78 leads from the drip pan 76 into the large elbow 7 9 on the outside of the tank base and which is theindicator of the amount of water in the drip pan.

`What we claim as our invention and desireLetters Patent for, is:

l. lnan acetylene gas generator, the comd bination of a generating tank, a carbid delivery valve in said tank, a gas storage tank, a bell in said gas storage tank adapted to slide vertically therein, and a removable valve actuating arm connected to the gas bell at one end and at its otherend to a helically grooved lifting `screw secured to the valve stein of the generating tank in such a manner as to cause a closing of said valve by the raising of the bell in the gas storage tank, as described.

2. In an acetylene gas generator, in combination with a gas generating tank, a carbid chamber in said tank, a gas storage tank, a gas bell in said storage tank gas and water conduits connecting the two tanks and removable means on the gas bell adapt ed to be connected to delivery mechanism in the generator; a ycarbid valve mechanism comprising a vertical shaft positioned centrally in the gas generator and running up through the carbid chamber, a cage on the top of the carbid chamber with a bearing in its top for they end of the shaft, and a cam collar fixed in its bottom, a collar screwed on the part of the shaft 'in the cage, helical grooves on the surface thereof, adapted to bc engaged by a detachable actuating arm connected with the gas bell, a camsecured to the lower en d of the grooved col-y lar and adapted to engage the fiXed camin the bottom of the cage, and to lift orlower the grooved collar during its revolution, a tube 47 inclosing loosely the shaft and secured to the top .of the carbid chamber, a loose tube 67 on the shaft 4outside of the other tube, a screw cap on the lower end of the tube 67, perforations in the tube 67, ad-

justing nuts on theI shaft above and below r the cap, a conical valve secured to the upper end of said tube 67 or valve stein, and positioned within the carbid chamber, another conicalvalve removably fitting on top of the firstvalve,l an inverted cone in the carbid chamber, the tubular lip of which depends` through the opening in the carbid chamber, and the inverted coneforming a seat for said valve anda double conical hood supported over the inverted cone to prevent packing of the carbid, as described and specified.

3. In an acetylene generator, the combi nation with a generating tank, of a carbid chamber in said tank; a carbid valve in said chamber; a gas storage tank; a gas bell in said storage tank; a cage on the top of said generator tank; a stationary cam in said cage; a vertical, revoluble and helical grooved lifting screw secured to the upper end of the valve stem in said generating tank; a cam `on the bottom of said lifting screw adapted to engage said stationary cam; an actuating arm comprising two members riveted in their longitudinal center and having their ends spread apart, the members on one end being held apart by a stay rivet and those on the opposite end forming a resilient yoke having perforations oppositely positioned therein; ball bearings in the ends of the rigidly separated members; roundheaded rollers revolubly seated in said bearings and adapted to engage the grooves in said lifting screw; and means for connecting said actuating arm with said gas bell for closing said carbid valve when said gas bell rises in said tank.

si. In an acetylene generator, the combination with a generating tank, of a carbid chamber in said tank having a conical top and bottom; a heavy valve adapted to seat in the bottom of said chamber; a double conical hood over said valve; a vertical shaft `extending through said valve and above said chamber; a helically grooved lifting screw secured to the upper end of said stem; a gas storage tank; a gas bell in said storage tank; and an actuating arm connected at one end with said lifting screw and at the other with said gas bell, for regulating the supply of carbid to the generator when said gas bell rises in said storage tank.

5; In an acetylene generator; the combination with a generating tank, of a carbid chamber secured to the top thereof and communicating therewith and having a conical y top and bottom; a heavy valve adapted to seat in the bottom of said chamber; a cage above said chamber; a shaft through to said valve extending into said generating tank and into said cage; a lifting screw secured to said stem in said cage; a gas storage tank connected with said generating tank; a gas bell slidablc vertically therein; an actuating arm connected at one end with said lifting screw and at the other with said gas bell; a double conical hood over said valve; and means foiI operably connecting said valve with said actuating mechanism for regulating the supply of carbid when the bell rises in said tank.

(i. In an acetylene generator, the combination with a generating tank, of a carbid chamber secured to the top thereof having a conical top and bottom; a heavy valve adapted to seat in the bottom of said cham ber; a double hood over said valve; a stem secured to said `valve extending into said generating tank; a vertical shaft through said valve extending into said stem and above said carbid chamber; a cage above said chamber and around said shaft; a helically grooved lifting screw secured to said shaft in said cage; a gas storage tank connected with said generating tank; a gas bell slidable in said storage tank; a valve actuating arm connected at one end with said lifting screw and at the other with said gas bell; a stationary cam in said cage; and a cam on the bottom of said lifting screw adapted to engage said stationary cam, for regulating the supply of carbid when the gas bell rises in the storage tank.

ZIBA A. FERREL. FRANKLIN P. FERREL.

Witnesses:

LUTHER L. MACK, J. E. BooKsTAvER.

Copies of this patent may 'ne obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

